The part I can't comprehend is how Rosewall was so good on clay. Good enough to beat Laver. His game was a patient, placement, no power lots of S&V game.

Rosewall actually could hit the ball very powerfully when needed and he hit the ball very early which gave him opponent less reaction time. Rosewall was super consistent, had great mobility with great passing shots, a great volley, excellent touch, a great lob and overhead. Hard for anyone to beat that combination. His backhand slice often dug low into the ground which made it very hard to drive back.

Rosewall was a very hard hitter of the ball in his prime but we tend to think of his later years. Even if you check out the highlights of his 1972 WCT match against Laver, you can see how hard he could hit and how he was often able to move Laver all over the court on the indoor surface.

The part I can't comprehend is how Rosewall was so good on clay. Good enough to beat Laver. His game was a patient, placement, no power but lots of S&V game.

Rosewall had a ton of power on groundstrokes and volleys, and he was very steady. Like Borg, he hit very few unforced errors. His greatness on clay was due to his great grounstrokes, speed, conditioning, steadiness and, mostly, his dogged competitiveness.

Rosewall had a ton of power on groundstrokes and volleys, and he was very steady. Like Borg, he hit very few unforced errors. His greatness on clay was due to his great grounstrokes, speed, conditioning, steadiness and, mostly, his dogged competitiveness.

Rosewall also had great touch, lobs and possibly the best volley in the game.

Koželuh was a six-time winner of the Bristol Cup (Menton, France), which was the most prestigious professional title in the world in the 1920s. He also won the World Pro tournament in Deauville, France, in 1925. Another major title for Koželuh was the French Professional Championship of 1930. He also won the US Pro on clay in 1932 and 1937.

Now all the titles mentioned above were on clay. One could argue that Koželuh was the best clay court player in the world from 1925 to 1932 at least. (It is possible that the French Amateurs were better - but I am not so sure of that - I think the evidence of Henri Cochet's lack of success amongst the Pro's suggests that Koželuh was stronger). He certainly was the best pro on that surface in that period.

I kind of always put Koželuh on the same rung as Nusslein...in the early 30's Nusslein, who was much younger than Koželuh - swapped titles.

Koželuh was a six-time winner of the Bristol Cup (Menton, France), which was the most prestigious professional title in the world in the 1920s. He also won the World Pro tournament in Deauville, France, in 1925. Another major title for Koželuh was the French Professional Championship of 1930. He also won the US Pro on clay in 1932 and 1937.

Now all the titles mentioned above were on clay. One could argue that Koželuh was the best clay court player in the world from 1925 to 1932 at least. (It is possible that the French Amateurs were better - but I am not so sure of that - I think the evidence of Henri Cochet's lack of success amongst the Pro's suggests that Koželuh was stronger). He certainly was the best pro on that surface in that period.

I kind of always put Koželuh on the same rung as Nusslein...in the early 30's Nusslein, who was much younger than Koželuh - swapped titles.

Wasn´t Bill Tilden who said Kozeluh may have been the greatest player he ever saw?

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Koželuh was a six-time winner of the Bristol Cup (Menton, France), which was the most prestigious professional title in the world in the 1920s. He also won the World Pro tournament in Deauville, France, in 1925. Another major title for Koželuh was the French Professional Championship of 1930. He also won the US Pro on clay in 1932 and 1937.

Now all the titles mentioned above were on clay. One could argue that Koželuh was the best clay court player in the world from 1925 to 1932 at least. (It is possible that the French Amateurs were better - but I am not so sure of that - I think the evidence of Henri Cochet's lack of success amongst the Pro's suggests that Koželuh was stronger). He certainly was the best pro on that surface in that period.

I kind of always put Koželuh on the same rung as Nusslein...in the early 30's Nusslein, who was much younger than Koželuh - swapped titles.

Bobby - you are possibly right about Cochet and Lacoste - but do you have any direct evidence that that was the case? Tilden only dominated Kozeluh off clay. On clay it was a different story. Tilden played Cochet and Lacoste hard on clay when he was a amateur - their matches were very close. I know that is a far from perfect comparison.....but it suggests to me that Kozeluh wasn't any weaker on clay than the great Frenchmen.